Nigeria’s erotica authors use WhatsApp to defy censors

In northern Nigeria, where Shariah law governs public morality and books have been burned for indecency, a new generation of women writers has found an ingenious workaround: WhatsApp.

Serializing explicit Hausa-language erotica in women-only groups, authors like Fauziyya Tasiu Umar—known online as Oum Hairan—have built thriving audiences on WhatsApp.

While critics argue the content challenges cultural and religious norms, writers insist their stories spark important conversations about relationships and society.

Part social commentary, part savvy entrepreneurship, this underground literary movement is quietly reshaping what’s possible for women’s voices in one of Nigeria’s most conservative regions.